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Despite intensifying criticism from business leaders both within and outside of Arkansas, the state legislature on March 31 passed its version of a measure billed as a religious freedom law, joining Indiana in a swirl of controversy that shows little sign of calming. The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson for signing.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence recently signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Section 1.IC34-13.9 of the Indiana Code) as passed by the Indiana General Assembly. Unlike many other states, Indiana does not have a non-discrimination law that protects GLBTQ persons and provides an opportunity to legalize intolerance. Following Gov. Pence’s request that the General Assembly try to fix the law amidst local and national outcry, ALA President Courtney Young released the following statement.

Colin Daileda writes: “Lawmakers in Arkansas will vote as soon as April 2 on a ‘religious freedom’ bill similar to Indiana’s much-criticized new law, part of a wave of legislation across the US that critics say would allow discrimination against the LGBT community. The bill in Arkansas ‘allows any person to claim religious belief as their grounds for discriminatory acts,’ according to the Human Rights Campaign.”

Michael Hiltzik writes: “The study of the jurisprudence of legalized bigotry took a big step forward last week. The trigger was Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Pence signing a law purportedly aimed at expanding protections for business owners’ religious beliefs and practices. The effect of the law, as an army of critics has pointed out, is to provide religious cover for discrimination against customers and employees.”

On June 26 at the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, ALCTS will present “Video Demystified: Cataloging with Best Practices Guides.” This all-day preconference will provide an overview of cataloging video recordings using Resource Description and Access (RDA), MARC21, and the newly issued Online Audiovisual Catalogers best practices cataloging guides for DVD/Blu-ray discs and streaming media.

Nancy Kranich, special projects librarian and lecturer at Rutgers University, has been selected to receive the 2015 ALA Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship. The award is given annually to an individual for a “significant contribution to the public recognition and appreciation of librarianship through professional performance, teaching, or writing.”